Murder of Linda S. Stein

Linda Stein (April 24, 1945 – October 30, 2007) was an American rock music manager and real estate broker. She began her career as a teacher before managing the Ramones with Danny Fields and later the singer/songwriter Steve Forbert. She was married to Seymour Stein, president of Sire Records, though the marriage ended in divorce. In the 1990s, Stein transitioned to real estate, becoming known as a broker to celebrity clients including Madonna, Sting, Angelina Jolie, Billy Joel, Christie Brinkley, Bruce Willis, Jann Wenner, Michael Douglas, Steven Spielberg, and Elton John.

On October 30, 2007, Stein was found dead in her Manhattan apartment. A coroner ruled her death a homicide, attributing the cause of death to blunt impact trauma to the head and neck. At the time of her death, Stein had been battling a brain tumor.

On November 9, 2007, Stein's former personal assistant, Natavia Lowery, was arrested in connection with the killing. According to reports, Lowery said she killed her employer because Stein "just kept yelling at her." Lowery also claimed Stein had blown marijuana smoke in her face and made a racial slur, but an autopsy determined there was no marijuana in Stein's system. While in police custody, Lowery waived her Miranda rights and gave a videotaped confession recounting her version of events.

At a December 13, 2007 court hearing, members of the Lowery family disrupted proceedings, loudly accusing Stein's daughter, Mandy, of having killed her mother; afterward, Lowery's mother approached Mandy Stein and said, "You know you did it." On May 3, 2010, Natavia Lowery was sentenced to the maximum term of 25 years to life for the murder of Linda Stein, with an additional three years imposed for the theft of $30,000 from Stein.

Separately, the New York County Surrogate's Court determined that Stein had died intestate. Under New York State law, her next of kin — her two daughters — inherited her estate, and their petition for control of the estate was filed and accepted on December 18, 2007.

In the aftermath, singer Elton John said he would perform at a cancer research fundraiser in Stein's honor. On April 24, 2009, what would have been Stein's 64th birthday, a documentary film by her daughter Mandy Stein, dedicated to her mother, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.